Mud wasp
Hi bug man 2 more pictures , this time of a mud dauber wasp?? in one he/she is carrying mud and the other a droplet of water .You see a knee magnified in the droplet…..
Pete Dundas
Ontario
Hi Pete,
Great photos of a Black and Yellow Mud Dauber, Sceliphron caementarium, in action. We tried getting some photos of a female making a nest on our porch, but sadly, the camera wasn’t charged.
Hey Bugman,
I wrote the otherday concerning a bug I found digging holes. I have since been told that it is a great golden digger wasp. Then I checked your site and sure enough there it was…I never thought to look under Wasps. I thought I’d give you the photo’s in file format anyway so you can use them if you should desire.
Great site.
Jay
Hi Jay,
Since we can only post four letters in an hour, we must leave many letters unanswered. If we couldn’t open your previous files, they probably got discarded. We are happy your Great Golden Digger Wasp was identified and are happy to post your images. Thank you.
what bug
Hi,
I saw this flying bug the other day. It was digging the hole in the ground in front of it. I’m pretty sure it was getting ready to lay an egg or eggs in it. When I came back later in the day the hole was filled in. I had seen one of these bugs a few days prior and it had a green catepiller that it had captured. (Unfortunately by the time I got the camera it was gone). I have an idea that it digs a hole, lays the egg or eggs and then puts prey in the hole for the larva to feed on but this is just a guess. I suspect it is some kind of hornet or wasp but can’t find it in my insect book. I live in south west MT
Thanks
g morgan
Hi G.,
You are good. This is a Thread-Waisted Wasp, Ammophila species. It lives in open areas throughout the US and Southern Canada. Adults feed on nectar and larvae eat hairless caterpillars and sawfly larvae. Female digs short burrows in sand or light soil, enlarges a chamber to receive immobilized insect prey, and lays an egg. Larva feed initially on nonessential tissues, later eats indiscriminately, killing host. Thanks for the great image. Try to get it with a caterpillar as well since the female will seal the nest and return with more food.
Great Golden Digging Wasp – Ky
I found a wasp digging in the back yard. From your sight it appears to be a Great Golden Digging Wasp. Last year I found a Cow Killer in my garage. Trying to identify that I found your great site. Keep up the good work.
Thank You,
David
Hi David,
Thank you so much for using the site as a research tool. So many people just send in photos and questions when a little searching will give them the answers. Your Great Golden Digger Wasp, Sphex ichneumoneus preys upon crickets, camel crickets and katydids. The adult builds the burrow and provisions 2-7 cells with anesthetized prey for the larval food. Adults frequent flowers for nectar and are active July and August.
Hi there.
I will try to get a picture of this creature for you…but untill then.. I will do my best to describe it to you in the hopes you can tell me what it is.
for starters..I live in Maryland (baltimore county) middle northeast md. and this creature has been spotted at work burrowing under the ground in our gardens and taking ever greens in with him/her. it is a large 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch wasp like creature with black wings (that flutter when its on the ground)…shapped like a wasp (redish in color with a heart shaped face and yellow hight lites on its face)…it flys more like a humming bird..it tends to hover and dart rather then fly around like a normal bee. it has been seen killing and carrying off katydids and other small-ish insects…they appear to have a huge under ground structure going with many holes comming up in the gardens….that are full of spreading ewes and now Stone crop plants. (use to have bulbs and ewes)..gardens have been untouched for about 30 years and the bee like creatures have been noticed since I planted the stone crop and cut away some of the ewes to reveal the soil. they are again…large wasp like with black wings and redish bodies…and seem to kill other insects. any ideas ? I will take a picture of them tomorrow
thanks
Pat
Hi Pat,
You have a Great Golden Digger Wasp.
Photo of strange tubular insect home
Hello,
My fiance has recently moved from Michigan to Noth Carolina. It is amazing how many more bugs live in a sub-tropical climate! Anyhow, she is terrified of these nests she has founbd on her new deck. Can you identufy these nests? Is this something she needs to be aware of or something that presents a possible danger? Thanks for the help,
Charles W. Nivison
Hi Charles,
What a very large photo of a very large ceiling with a little Mud Dauber Nest in the center. These are solitary wasps that build nests of mud and fill them with paralyzed spiders, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, flies or other insects that serve as food for the young. Each species of wasp has a very specific food source. The wasps can sting, but will only do so if provoked, by say, a broom knocking down their nest.
Ed. Note: (09/06/2004) Eric just wrote in identifying the species as the Organ Pipe Mud Dauber, Trypoxylon politum, and informed us they prey on spides only.
I like This
